A Call to Prayer

A CALL TO PRAYER

An Exposition of an Important Biblical Theme

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date:   May 20, 2018

Series: Stand-alone Sermons

Note:   Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION

Before we return to the Philippians Series on the next Lord’s Day, I would like to devote a sermon to the matter of prayer. My desire is that this sermon, in combination with whatever other ways God is at work in our lives, would have two effects: first, to stir up an increase of fervent praying on all fronts; and second, to increase the number of participants at our newly designed midweek Prayer Service on Wednesday evening. The Prayer Service will include Scripture reading, singing, a short word of instruction and encouragement, and significant amounts of prayer.

This goal of increased participation at Prayer Meeting is very specific, and I understand that there are any number of sensible reasons why many of you may not be able to attend the mid-week Prayer Gathering – family bedtime rhythms with children being one such good reason, as well as other small group or ministry team commitments that you have at other times during the week, and you don’t want to be stretched too thin or taken away from your spouse or kids too many evenings. That said, surely there must be some folks here – I don’t know if it’s ten or fifteen or twenty-five people – there must be some folks who really have no compelling reason not to go to Prayer Meeting, it’s just that you don’t. It’s those ten or fifteen or twenty-five people that I am after with this sermon, with respect to the desire for greater participation at our Prayer Service.

However, if you know yourself to be outside that select group of potential participants in Prayer Meeting, you must not tune out. Because I’m actually after everyone with this sermon, including myself. Which is why I mentioned the other desire for greater praying on all fronts: prayer as part of our private devotions, prayer with our families, prayer with our Bible Studies or small groups or ministry teams, prayer with close Christian friends, colleagues, or accountability partners, and prayer with neighbors and even strangers.

I have entitled this sermon “A Call To Prayer.” I will not be focused on only one passage, but will actually be incorporating a number of passages into the message. It would be cumbersome to have you turn in your Bible to every Scripture passage, but there will be a few occasions when I ask you to turn to a specific passage.

May God plant in our hearts a seed of greater faithfulness in prayer, that the fervency and frequency with which we pray would be much increased, with all kinds of fruit being multiplied around us for the glory of God and the joy of our hearts.

THE COMMAND TO PRAY

First, let us consider the command to pray. That we are commanded to pray is a good starting place, not because commands are the most important thing, but because they simply make it clear what we are supposed to be doing. So let’s first establish the fact that we ought to be praying. Let these instructions land on your soul as God’s good and perfect will for you and indeed for all of us who have been adopted into His family through faith in Jesus Christ.

“[Do] not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 4:2)

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6)

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.” (James 5:13) 

Perhaps most, if not all, of these passages are familiar to us – familiar, at least, in the memory bank of our minds. But are they familiar to us by way of experience in actual praying? Briefly consider from these passages that true prayer stands in stark contrast to anxiety and pride: in prayer we express our trust in God and our humility before God. We also learn that prayer is not something to take up on an occasional basis, but rather something that is woven into all of life: “pray without ceasing” and “[continue] steadfastly”! Finally, we see that prayer is to be accompanied “with thanksgiving.”

Listen to the words of the 19^th century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon:

“We do not forget to eat: … we do not forget to be diligent in business: we do not forget to go to our beds to rest: but we often do forget to wrestle with Godin prayer and to spend, as we ought to spend, long periods in consecrated fellowship with our Father and our God…. Hours for the world! Moments for Christ! The world has the best, and our prayer closet the parings of our time. We give our strength and freshness to the ways of mammon, and our fatigue and languor to the ways of God. Hence it is that we need to be commanded to attend to that very act which it ought to be our greatest happiness, as it is our highest privilege to perform, that is to meet with our God.”[1]

THE BASIS OF PRAYER

Second, let us consider the basis of prayer. How is it that sinners can have any expectation that the Holy God would be attentive and responsive to our prayers? Apart from His grace, we are enveloped in sin and our sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). Sinners do not humbly hear and obey God’s Word, and Scripture says that they prayers of the disobedient will not receive a gracious hearing in heaven: “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination” (Proverbs 28:9). So, how can we get an audience with God? How can our prayers receive gracious consideration from His fatherly heart? Only through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ! “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5) Our Lord Jesus Christ “[made] peace by the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:20) and we who believe “were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Romans 5:10). Through Christ (Ephesians 2:18), all true believers “have access in one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:18). Therefore the door is open wide for us to come to the Father – even to come and pray. And when we pray, we must not pray on the basis of our performance, but rather we must pray on the basis of God’s mercy given to us through Jesus.

THE EXAMPLE OF PRAYER

Third, let us consider the example of prayer. Faithful men and women throughout the Bible have left for us an example of prayer. The book of Psalms may rightly be understood as the church’s ‘prayer book’. Many of these prayers were written by King David, a man after God’s own heart.

When we turn to the pages of the New Testament, Luke tells us that “[Jesus] would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (Luke 5:16). Our Lord Jesus Christ, the humble obedient sacrificial servant we have contemplated in our journey through Philippians 2, prayed often to His Father during His earthly life.

As a faithful servant of Christ, the apostle Paul prayed for the well-being of the churches: “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy” (Philippians 1:3-4). At the conclusion of their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas “appointed elders” in the churches that they had planted – and notice what they did: “And when they had appointed elders for them [the disciples] in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed” (Acts 14:23). Their missionary journey concluded with “prayer and fasting,” but we should not fail to point out that this is how the first missionary journey had begun:

“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul [i.e., Paul] for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” (Acts 13:2-3)

Acts 13-14 is a unit that describes Paul’s first missionary journey, and that journey was commenced and completed with fasting and prayer.

Some of you may be familiar with the Church Calendar – by which I am not referring to the South Paris Baptist Church Calendar that tells us when our next fellowship meal is going to be, but to the big-C Church Calendar that walks us through significant biblical events in a systematic fashion. There is Advent, followed by Christmastide, followed by Epiphany, followed by Lent and Holy Week, followed by Resurrection Sunday and Eastertide. Seven weeks after Resurrection Sunday is Pentecost Sunday – and in 2018 Pentecost Sunday is today (May 20)! This takes us all the way back to Acts 1-2, when the first disciples had to wait for about ten days between the ascension of Jesus into heaven and the subsequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon them on the day of Pentecost. They had to wait for the promise; they had to wait for the Holy Spirit to come and empower them for mission. What did they do while they were waiting? Whatever else they may have done, they were praying! “All these [the eleven apostles] with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” (Acts 1:14) In due course:

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all [the approximately 120 disciples, see Acts 1:15] together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4)

Jesus poured out His Spirit on His people so that His people could proclaim His Word to all nations, that other people might hear the gospel, repent of their sins, and become members of God’s forever family. And do you know what happened after the Spirit was given at the beginning of Acts 2? Empowered by the Spirit, the apostle Peter preached the gospel to a multitude of souls (Acts 2:14-40) – and about three thousand people received the word and became followers of Jesus (Acts 2:41). These new followers also “[received] the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Now, what do you think these three thousand new disciples were doing alongside the one hundred twenty who were already disciples? “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42)

Do you see the importance of prayer? In Acts 1-2 and in Acts 13-14 we see that prayer is an integral part of the Church’s life and mission. Like Jesus, like Paul, and like the early church, we too ought to pray with great expectancy as participants in the mission of God.

THE PROMISE OF EFFECTIVE PRAYER

Fourth, let us consider the promise of effective prayer. God promises to work through our prayers in order to accomplish His work. God’s will is to involve us in His work, and one of the ways that He involves us in His work is by calling us to pray for His work to be done. God wills that certain things happen through our prayers and not apart from them, even though He doesn’t need our prayers. He doesn’t need our prayers, but He wants our prayers: after all, we are His children, and He is our Father, and He wants us to come before Him with humble faith and bold petition.

Consider these passages, which show us that God grants spiritual blessing to us through our prayers, and also that He grants spiritual blessing to others through our prayers.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7-11; see also James 1:5-7)

“You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” (James 4:2-3)

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:12-14)

“You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” (2 Corinthians 1:11)

There are “good gifts” and “good things” that you could have, but don’t, because you are either not asking or not asking with right motives. Further, there are “works” that Jesus intends to do through your prayers for the benefit of others, and there is help and blessing that God intends to grant others through your prayers. However, if we fail to pray, then these works, helps, and blessings may not come, or they may not come as quickly as they have might have come, had we prayed.

Instruction from Mark 9:14-29

This lesson about the effectiveness of prayer and the stunning implications of not praying, are really driven home to us in Mark 9. I encourage you to turn there so that you can follow along as I read it. Mark 9:2-13 recounts our Lord’s Transfiguration on a “high mountain” (Mark 9:2) when His glory was revealed to three disciples – Peter, James, and John. While these three disciples were with the Lord on the mountain, the other nine disciples were elsewhere – and at least some of them were attempting to minister in the midst of “a great crowd” (Mark 9:14). Jesus had given these twelve disciples, called apostles, “authority over the unclean spirits” (Mark 6:7). In Mark 6 we are told that “they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.” (Mark 6:13) But the disciples were unprepared for the challenge presented to them in Mark 9. As we pick things up at Mark 9:14, Jesus along with Peter, James, and John had “[come] down the mountain” (Mark 9:9) and now they are reconnecting with the other disciples.

Starting at verse 14: “And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”” (Mark 9:14-18)

Imagine the pain in this father’s heart. His boy was in the grip of an evil spirit. If the Dad had once had any illusions about the innocence of youth or the wonders of childhood as they pertained to his son, those days were long gone. Now there were seizures and throw-downs and dehumanizing experiences at the hands of a demonic power. The desperate father is looking for an answer: “So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”

We may feel a safe distance from Mark 9:18, but we shouldn’t. Suppose someone said to the Lord in our hearing: ‘I asked your people for spiritual help, and they were unable to deliver.’ Or: ‘I asked the Church to minister to my demonized child, and their ministry was utterly unhelpful.’ Wouldn’t that sting a bit?

Now you might protest: ‘Wait a minute! This is probably one of those instances where we really can’t do anything about it, only the Lord can!’ But, as we read through this passage, we will learn that this protest won’t work – so stay tuned.

Now how would Jesus respond to the father’s plea?

Verse 19: “And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.”” (Mark 9:19)

The disciples are apparently not entirely excluded from the “faithless generation” that Jesus laments. For in the Matthew 17:14-21 description of this same event, Jesus tells the disciples that their ineffectiveness in ministry was the result of “[their] little faith.” (Matthew 17:20) Whether we consider our own needs or the needs of others, we do well to ask ourselves if we are truly trusting the Lord and leaning on His promises.

Continuing at verse 20: “And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”” (Mark 9:20-24)

It is a matter of great simplicity for the Lord Jesus to cast out demons and heal the afflicted and save those who are crushed under the weight of their sin. The question is not whether He is able, for He is able to do all that – and far more! – by a single word of command. The question, rather, is whether we are able to receive His work or participate in it – and that question turns on trusting Jesus, on believing in Him: “All things are possible for one who believes.” The father’s prayer is one of the best prayers that a fragile human being can pray: “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Verse 25: “And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.” (Mark 9:27)

The evil spirit was in the habit of throwing the boy down, but the Lord “lifted him up” and set him free! The Lord Jesus Christ did what His disciples might have done, but failed to do. And a question lingered in the minds of the disciples.

Verses 28-29: “And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately. “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”” (Mark 9:28-29)

Earlier I referred to Matthew’s account of the same event, and in that passage Jesus’ explained their inability to cast out the demon by answering: “Because of your little faith.” (Matthew 17:20)

These two answers interpret each other. When Jesus says, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer,” He means prayer that is full of faith. Faith-fullness expressed in prayer is one of the ways that ordinary disciples participate in God’s mighty work. And consider the stunning implications of not praying. A demonized boy and desperate Dad suffered a little bit longer because Jesus’ disciples were deficient in faith and deficient in prayer, and that made them deficient in power, and thus “they were not able” to cast out the demon.                                         

Sober Awareness of our Responsibility to Pray

Since “[all] things are possible for one who believes” and since certain unclean spirits can only “be driven out by… [faith-filled] prayer” and since “[the] prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16) and since “whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you” (John 16:23), I wonder how many spiritual victories in ministry and mission have not yet been granted because we, like the disciples, are deficient in faith and deficient in prayer? I wouldn’t have that question land on you in order to induce guilt feelings, but rather to put into our hearts a sober awareness of our responsibility to draw near to heaven’s throne and ask our Father to do what only He can do, knowing that He delights to release His power through the prayers of His people. To be clear, this is not ‘name it and claim it’ as if we get to call the shots. Further, sometimes faithful prayers don’t get answered in the way we had hoped. Unanswered prayer or delayed answers doesn’t necessarily mean that you lack faith or that you are living in sin. However, when we read Scripture’s lavish promises about the effectiveness of prayer, we ought to conclude that in all likelihood there are some spiritual victories that have not yet been granted because we have been lazy and we have not labored steadfastly in faith-filled prayer.

How many people are led astray or blinded or afflicted or threatened by the devil and his league of demons? There are members of our church family who have unconverted spouses, unconverted or backsliding adult children, distracted and tempted youth, and unconverted young children. Outside of our church community, there are thousands of people in the Oxford Hills who don’t know the Lord. Inside our church community, each and every one of us has a battle with sin and a profound need to grow in our walk with the Lord so that we are wiser, kinder, and more faithful in our marriage and family life, in our work environment, in our neighbor-love to those who live around us, and in our participation and service within the church family. All this and more is worthy of our steadfast attention in prayer.

THE ATTITUDE OF PRAYER

Fifth, let us consider the attitude of prayer. Healthy prayer involves the attitude of humble dependence on God. In prayer we recognize our profound need for God’s help! We know that if God doesn’t come through to meet our needs or the needs of others, then sooner or later things are only going to go from bad to worse.

Think about the connection between Luke 1:37 and Mark 9:23. Luke 1:37 says, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Mark 9:23 says, “All things are possible for one who believes.” God alone is the One who does what is impossible for anyone else to do. When Jesus says, “All things are possible for one who believes,” He is not referring to heroic feats like climbing Mount Everest or materialistic pursuits like owning a luxury sports car. The point, rather, is that by faith you entrust your profound needs to the God who does things that are impossible for anyone else to do; you trust God to come through for you or for your troubled child or for the people you are trying to help; and you know that the Father delights to reveal His power in answer to our believing prayers. If we truly understood the limitless possibilities for spiritual good that lay before us, we would be much more earnest to believe, hope, seek, and ask.

In all such prayer, we must remember that God is our heavenly Father who cares for us, and we are His beloved children who look to Him for help. We must never think of God as a vending machine who will release the selected product whenever the right amount of change is put it. Prayer is not magic! Prayer doesn’t guarantee any particular outcome. Prayer is not about us getting to play ‘god’. In fact, our hope is not in prayer at all; our hope is in God! The power is not in the praying but in the God who hears and answers prayer! By prayer we gratefully depend on God and gladly participate in His work, always understanding that He is the sovereign King, and we are not. And in prayer we draw near to a personal Father: “let your requests be made known to God,” “[cast] all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” Fervent pleadings and urgent intercessions are good and right. But multiplying words for the sake of effect or making childish demands that cannot accept an answer of ‘No’ or ‘Wait’ are out of place. The heart of true prayer is not about anxiously taking things from God’s hand in an impersonal way (e.g., ‘Just give me the money, Dad’). Instead, the heart of true prayer is adoringly entrusting your concerns to the generous heart of your heavenly Father who loves and cares for you. The attitude of true prayer is not attempting to manipulate God to implement your plan; the attitude of true prayer is agreeing with God on the implementation of His plan.

THE CONTENT OF PRAYER

Which leads us right along to a sixth consideration, namely, the content of prayer. Here I can only sketch an outline of prayer’s proper content.

1) Our prayers should be driven by the Word. “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7) “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13). To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in accordance with His character and His will. To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in such a way that Jesus would be glad to affix His signature to it. How can we be confident that we are praying in Jesus’ name? By letting His words dwell richly among us (Colossians 3:16) so that the prayers that we pray are saturated with the truth of His Word. 

2) Our prayers should reflect God’s priorities. When Jesus taught us to pray, He didn’t teach us that “our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11) and our physical needs should fill up the majority of our praying. They have a place, but only a place. And when we are spending so much time praying about illness and injuries and drained bank accounts and unpaid bills, and so little time praying about anything else, our priorities are out of order. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things [ordinary physical provisions] will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) When Jesus said to “seek first the kingdom of God,” he meant that we should do so not only in the way that we live but also in the way that we pray.

“Pray then like this:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9-13)

Our prayers should be joyfully directed along these lines: that God’s holy name be honored, that His kingdom advance, that the lost be converted, that believers grow in holiness and love, and that the Church be strong in her life and mission. These “kingdom of God” priorities should shape our prayers, and other concerns should be viewed as subservient and secondary. In light of the priorities that God has revealed, we ought to exercise our discernment in order to identify and approve what are the most fitting subjects of prayer. Do not let secondary matters like career guidance and financial supply and physical health and success at school or business govern your prayer life. Someone might protest: ‘But those things are important!’ To which I reply: I didn’t say they were unimportant. There are ten thousand secondary things that are important – pray about them, because He cares for you. But if you let important secondary things crowd out the most important primary things, then your praying falls short of the biblical paradigm. Career guidance? Sure. But what about guidance in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake? Financial supply? Sure. But what about living in the riches of God’s grace and storing up treasure in heaven? Physical health? Sure. But what about being strong in the Lord and in His mighty power? Success at school or in business? Sure. But what about godly character that adorns the gospel and offers a compelling Christian witness to your school mates and business colleagues?   

THEREFORE, PRAY…

In light of all this, I encourage you to pray – and to set your mind on growing in prayer. Go often to a place of private prayer. Lift up short prayers of desperate longing throughout your day. Gather with a prayer partner, or set aside significant time in your Bible Study or Small Group or Ministry Team for prayer. Husbands and wives, pray with one another. Parents, pray with your children. Anywhere and everywhere, entrust your cares and concerns to the Father, and pray for those cares and concerns through the filter of Scriptural priorities. In all circumstances, ask the Father to stretch forth His hand and do what only He can do, and wait patiently for Him to do what He deems best.

… AND PRAY TOGETHER AS A CHURCH FAMILY

All that said, I want to submit a concluding appeal as to the rightness of corporate prayer.[2] It’s really a very simple matter. All that we have spoken of ought to compel us to pray. Now I would only add one other detail: since the church is a community of believers who are united together in the bond of fellowship, all of these things ought to compel us to pray together. Philippians 1:27 tells us that we are to “[stand] firm in one spirit” and “with one mind [strive] together for the faith of the gospel.” Well, let us stand firm in one spirit in prayer, and with one mind strive together for the faith of the gospel in prayer. Philippians 2:2 tells us that we ought to be united in mind, heart, and soul. So then, let us be united in mind, heart, and soul in prayer. Ephesians 4:4 and other passages say that we are one body – shouldn’t we function as one body in prayer?

To be sure, it is possible to all be praying about the same thing while we are separated and scattered about in our various homes. But isn’t there a spiritual blessing, encouragement, and strengthening that comes from being together in each other’s physical presence? After giving instruction about how the church should practice discipline toward its members who drift off into sin, Jesus made a promise about the power of Christians acting together in agreement – and though the context is church discipline, the principle seems to be more widely applicable: “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:19-20) In other words, there is a special presence of Christ and a special effectiveness in prayer when believers gather together in His name and do His work with hearts that are agreeable with each other and with the Lord – and this work especially includes the work of prayer, the work of asking the Father for the spiritual things that need done.

In this regard, I’ll take “two or three” at our midweek Prayer Service. But why not twenty-two or twenty-three? Or why not forty-two or forty-three? Do you believe that if, say, thirty of us regularly gathered together on Wednesday evening with hearts full of faith and full of Scripture and full of accord with one another, and prayed at it and stayed at it for three years, do you believe it would make no difference? If you believe it would make no difference, then don’t come. But if there is a stirring in your heart and you believe that it would make a difference and you are able to come, would you join us? 

Let me conclude with another quote from Charles Spurgeon: “How can we expect a blessing if we are too idle to ask for it? How can we look for a Pentecost if we never meet with one another, in once place, to wait upon the Lord? Brethren, we shall never see much change for the better in our churches in general till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians.”[3]

Let us pray.

ENDNOTES

[1] Charles H. Spurgeon, “619. The Golden Key of Prayer.” Sermon delivered on March 12, 1865. Available online at https://answersingenesis.org/education/spurgeon-sermons/619-the-golden-key-of-prayer/.

[2] In Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching as Worship (p. 31-48), John Piper shows “that such gatherings [i.e., regular corporate worship gatherings] are beautifully fitting” (p. 32). Similarly, and with conscious appreciation for how Piper approached the matter, I am attempting to briefly show the rightness of regular corporate prayer gatherings. I highly recommend Piper’s volume: John Piper. Expository Exulation: Christian Preaching as Worship. Wheaton: Crossway, 2018.

[3] Charles Haddon Spurgeon, “The Kind of Revival We Need.” Provided by Spurgeon Ministries, Bath Road Baptist Church (Kingston, Ontario, Canada). Available online at https://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/history/spurgeon/web/ss-0005.html.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

NOTE: My inclusion of a bibliography reflects my interaction with other teachers in the preparation of my sermon. While the main part of my preparation involves my direct interaction with the biblical text, I find it helpful to invite other “discussion partners” into my preparation process. My mention of these teachers (writers, speakers, etc.) does not imply any particular level of agreement with them, nor does it constitute an endorsement of their work. That said, I am appreciative of those – past and present – who are seeking to faithfully teach God’s Word, and I am happy to benefit from their labor.

Moo, Douglas J. The Letter of James (Pillar New Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000.